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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28020624">Hello Again, Bartimaeus</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neva_Borne/pseuds/Neva_Borne'>Neva_Borne</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bartimaeus - Jonathan Stroud</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bartimaeus - Freeform, Bartimaeus is a sassy djinni, Djinni, Epilogue, Genie - Freeform, Kitty - Freeform, Magicians, Memories, Post-Canon, Reunion, Summoning, The Other Place, Wrapping up loose ends</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:00:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,545</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28020624</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neva_Borne/pseuds/Neva_Borne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bartimaeus and Kitty have a heart-to-heart in the epilogue that should have been but never was.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bartimaeus &amp; Kitty Jones</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hello Again, Bartimaeus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>    Once again I felt the harsh tug of the Summoning. Once again I tried desperately to cling to the Other Place. The swirling chaos that is my home grasped me briefly, but the Summoning was too strong, and I was ripped away, crashing down to Earth within seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    I rifled through my repertoire of guises. I could sense the power behind the Summoning, so the magician was doubtless experienced and would not be frightened by a misty giant with flames licking at its limbs.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>So, no minotaur, or Serpent of Silver Plumes, either. Ho hum. What to choose, what to choose?</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>I settled for one I’ve used countless times before. Sweet fragrances filled the air and delicate music played from everywhere and nowhere. A figure shimmered into existence in the pentacle; a woman, her skin creamy and smooth, eyes large and blue. Blonde hair fell in luscious waves down her back and framed her delicate face. Her lips were full and bright red, a seductive smile playing on them coyly. Her body was slender, curving in at the waist and curving out again to form her hips.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>And she was naked, of course. (I find it helps throw the magicians off their game, since the men are often overcome with lust, and the women become uncomfortable in the presence of someone more beautiful.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    All in all it was another perfect guise. I turned my baby blue eyes to fix on the magician. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    And stopped dead. The music came to a stop with a harsh screech and the delicate fragrances died away as I stared at the person opposite me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Really, Bartimaeus?” Kitty said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Well now,</span>
  <em>
    <span> this</span>
  </em>
  <span> was a surprise. The last time I’d seen Kitty she’d been hobbling away from Saint James’ park, away from Nouda and Gladstone’s Staff. She had been grey-haired, her face lined and old. She looked much better now, her hair dyed back into a dark color, the lines on her face faded. Her eyes were still bright and piercing. They regarded me coolly, but deeper down I could see her elation at the sight of me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Hurriedly I picked my jaw up off the floor and composed myself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Well this isn’t something that happens everyday, you know.” I said, trying to bluster my way through my shock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    The sight of the young woman standing in front of me brought back memories of my old master, Nathaniel, and our numerous exploits. Nathaniel had been a pretty typical magician, except perhaps for the fact that he insisted on Summoning me despite the fact that I knew his birth name and he knew that I knew it, or the fact that he’d Summoned me on his own for the first time at the tender age of twelve to seek revenge against another magician who’d wronged him (okay, the revenge part is pretty typical, I’ll admit, but I was mostly referring to the him being twelve bit). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Yes, he’d been a pretty typical master, alright… until the end. In the end he’d earned a tiny bit of my respect. Just a tiny bit, mind. I don’t give my respect </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “I thought you were dead.” Kitty said, sitting down in the center of her Pentacle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    I sat down too, shifting into Ptolemy as I did so. There was no need for seductive guises anymore. Kitty and I had an understanding, and by honoring Ptolemy, I was also, in a way, honoring her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Well here I am, alive and well. How long has it been?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “A year. I’ve been traveling to keep my mind off everything.” She pushed her hair out of her face. “I visited Jakob, and I went to Egypt too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Are you still playing magician, then, or have you come to your senses for the most part?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Honestly, the first time Kitty had Summoned me had been the shock of my life, considering she was a commoner. And here she was again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    She shook her head. “No. I told you last time, I learned all that stuff just to Summon you. There’s no one else I’d want to Summon. And I thought you were dead, like I said, so there was no need to continue learning it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Well, I’m honored you think so highly of me. But what made you summon me if you thought I was dead?” I asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “I’m not sure, really. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And Nathaniel.” her voice was steady, but her eyes betrayed the grief she still felt inside. “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>you survive anyway? Nothing within a five mile radius was left intact. Nathaniel’s body was never found.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her voice quavered at that, and even </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>felt a small pang for my old master. I must be going soft.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Nathaniel Dismissed me at the last moment.” I sighed. “He didn’t trust me to break the Staff at the right moment. Typical master.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    There was a moment of silence as we both struggled to find words to speak (a rare occurrence in my case). I busied myself by flitting through my memories of the last moments when Nouda came down upon us and Nathaniel broke the Staff. His last words echoed in my head. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>    Say hello to Kitty for me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>    I stared at Kitty. I felt inclined to tell her those words. She had earned my respect as much as Ptolemy had, and I would’ve told Ptolemy anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “He told me to say hello to you for him.” I said, my eyes fixed on her face. I could see the pain in her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    She spoke bitterly. “Goodbye would have been more fitting.” She looked away from my face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “True. But all you humans are odd in your own way. To think his last words would be something like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>    My attempt at humor was apparently not appreciated (it seldom is, now that I think about it. Humans really are strange creatures). Kitty’s composure broke. She tucked her knees underneath her and began to cry. I sat awkwardly in my pentacle, unsure what to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Eventually she calmed down and faced me once again, her face blotchy and red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “I’m sorry Bartimaeus. I just miss him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “He loved you, you know.” I said, resisting the urge to shudder at the memories of being inside his head when he looked at her. “He admired your spirit and willpower.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    She did not speak, just stared tearfully at the wall, and I bit my lip, wondering if maybe she hadn’t needed that bit of information.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Another awkward silence. This was highly unusual. I usually had </span>
  <em>
    <span>loads </span>
  </em>
  <span>to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “I’m glad you’re alive, Bartimaeus.” she said finally. “It was nice seeing you again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “What? You’re Dismissing me already?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Kitty looked at me. “Yes. I don’t have any orders to give you. I just wanted to see you again. If you were alive.” She paused. “Oh… and you’re recorded dead in all the books of Spirits now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    My eyes widened. “What? I’m officially dead? But… that means…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “No more Summoning.” Kitty smiled slightly. “Isn’t it what you’ve always wanted?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Yes, but-” I was stunned. No more Summons? No more pain here on Earth? To be able to float freely in the Other Place for all eternity. It was what I had dreamed of for so long… but something wasn’t right. Five thousand years I’ve been Summoned intermittently, and for that to just end… Well, it’s become a habit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “But what Bartimaeus?” Kitty asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Well… it’s just… I don’t know. I don’t like the thought of me being dead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “If it helps, the books put it very nicely: </span>
  <em>
    <span>The noble djinni who stood alongside the Great John Mandrake in his final moments as they defeated Nouda in a display of magician and spirit working together the likes of which have never been seen before</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Great John Mandrake?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I laughed at the title. Nathaniel would’ve eaten it up, I’m sure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Yes, that’s what he’s remembered as.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Interesting.” I cup my chin with my hand. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>appreciate being described as a ‘noble djinni’ though. Not enough of that in the old history books.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Probably because you’re a sarcastic bastard.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>I reeled back as if stung. “Kitty Jones,” I said haughtily. “I am insulted.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She snorted. “Am I wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well, no…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    She smiled and clapped her hands on her knees. “So, Bartimaeus, do you want to be Dismissed for good now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Um.” It still hadn’t really processed that this would be my last Summons. My last time on Earth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “I’ll take that as a yes then. Goodbye Bartimaeus. It’s been good seeing you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    She stood. I followed suit, rearranging my loincloth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Kitty.” I said, my voice serious as I held her gaze with Ptolemy’s dark eyes. “Feel free to Summon me whenever. You have earned that, and I will gladly give my life for you, in honor of what you did for me. I’m glad you are well. Enjoy your life, Kitty. Don’t waste it dwelling on the past.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    She spoke the words of Dismissal. I spiraled up and away from Earth as a smoke cloud, drifting ever upwards as the Other Place reclaimed my essence and the claws that kept me tethered to Earth disappeared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    For the second time in all my history of Summonses, I was unhappy to be leaving.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I always thought it was tragic how Kitty thought Nathaniel and Bartimaeus both died and I always wanted to know what happened to her after the trilogy ended. I wrote this several years ago and recently rediscovered it, so I rewrote it, added some things, and made it into a mini fic.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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